Hopper car construction

ABSTRACT

An aluminum hopper car having a high-pitched roof defined by sheeting mounting carlines connected between box-shaped sideplates and the coaming defining a continuous trough hatch opening, the carlines being in transverse alignment with box section side posts and reinforcing partition sheets and the bolster web, a horizontal shear plate lying in the plane of the horizontal portions of the side and end sills connecting with said bolster web and end slope sheet to define a closed torque box arrangement, said slope sheet comprising a plurality of sections of variable thicknesses to accommodate load requirements, the shear plate and slope sheets being assembled by butt welding techniques.

United States Patent [72] Inventors Herman A. Aquino Hobart; Walter J. Marulic, Gary; William R. Shaver, Munster, Ind. [21] Appl. No. 739,318 [22] Filed June 24, 1968 [45] Patented Jan. 26, 1971 [73] Assignee Pullman Incorporated Chicago, 111. a corporation of Delaware [54] HOPPER CAR CONSTRUCTION 10 Claims, 11 Drawing Figs.

[52] US. Cl 105/406, 105/247 [51] Int. Cl B61d 7/00, B6lf 1 10 [50] Field of Search 105/404, 409, 306, 413, 406, 247, 248, (lnquired) [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,813,537 7/1931 Gilpin 105/406 Primary ExaminerArthur L. LaPoint Assistant Examiner-Richard A. Bertsch AttorneysHilmond O Vogel and Wayne Morris Russell ABSTRACT: An aluminum hopper car having a high-pitched roof defined by sheeting mounting carlines connected between box-shaped sideplates and the coaming defining a continuous trough hatch opening, the carlines being in transverse alignment with box section side posts and reinforcing partition sheets and the bolster web, a horizontal shear plate lying in the plane of the horizontal portions of the side and end sills connecting with said bolster web and end slope sheet to define a closed torque box arrangement, said slope sheet comprising a plurality of sections of variable thicknesses to accommodate load requirements, the shear plate and slope sheets being assembled by butt welding techniques.

PATENTEnJAnzslan 3557714 sum 1 UF 3 HERMAN A. AOUINO WALTER J. MARULIC WILLIAM R. SHAVER INVENTORS PATENTED JAN26 I97:

SHEET 2 OF 3 2 EISL INVENTORS HERMAN A. AOUINO WALTER J. MARULIC WIL LIAM R. SHAVER PATENTED JAN26 19?:

SHEET 3 0F 3 f w INVENTORS HERMAN A. AOU/NO WALTER J. MARULIC 4 L IAMR. SHAVER W4 I8 A HOPPER CAR CONSTRUCTION BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The invention pertains to the field of art relating to hopper car construction where it is desirable to produce lightweight, high cubic capacity, high strength cars.

2. Description of the Prior Art An aluminum hopper car constructiongenerally is not new. In such type of construction it is always desirable to provide for the highest cubic capacity using the lightest weight and yet maintaining sufficient strength. This invention solves the problem of obtaining the maximum cubic capacity, the minimum of weight and yet providing high strength difficult to obtain in aluminum welding operations.

The roof construction of current cars provides for across hatch-strengthening members or so-called horse collars through the trough hatch opening, which arrangement interferes with loading operations and this invention also seeks to overcome this difi'rculty.

In center sill-less cars it is desirable to use a torque box construction comprised of the bolster web, shear plate and end slope sheet but difficulty arises in closing the box section by welding operation and this invention has for its purpose the overcoming of this problem. The welding of the various components of the aluminum hopper car, if done by fillet welding, results in a loss of strength at the weldv and it is also this problem that the invention seeks to overcome.

SUMMARY The invention provides a unique structural arrangement of the roof carlines being in alignment with torsion and bending force resistant side posts where the roof side sheet is attached to the carlines to provide a connecting girder between the side posts and the roof coaming to define a continuous trough hatch opening. The continuous trough hatch roof opening is thereby uninterrupted by portions of the roof and results in fast, easy and continuous loading. Aluminum or other light material construction is desirable for lightweight and yet high strength is maintained by proper butt welding techniques. Strong box section aluminum extrusion sideplates are pro vided between the carlines and the box section side posts to add additional strength to the car and eliminate the necessity of using horse collars at the trough hatch opening.

The invention also eliminates the construction of the through center sill, providing end stub center sills and a torque box arrangement to receive the buff and draft forces imparted to the center sills by providing for a butt-welded torque box arrangement of the bolster web, the shear plate and the end slope sheet where the shear plate is butt welded to the end sill and the slope sheet which sheet consists of a plurality of sections that are butt welded to eliminate the difficulty of attempting to weld within the torque box construction. The use of butt welding in place of fillet welding of the various aluminum components of the car provides for higher strength at the weld areas.

By the use of several sections to form the posts or the slope sheet and employing butt welding to integrate the sections, the strength of the sections may be maintained and varied to meet particular load requirements.

Other advantages and objects will become apparent from reference to the following description, appended claims and attached drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of our novel hopper car;

FIG. 2 is a partial perspective view of the torque box arrangement of the hopper car;

FIG. 3 is a partial plan view of the torque box arrangement;

FIG. 4 is a partial elevational view illustrating the torque box arrangement taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 4A is an enlarged view of the inner weldment of the shear plate;

III

FIG. 4B is an enlarged view of an outward weldment of the shear plate;

FIG. Sis a partial end view of the car taken along line 55 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a plan view of the hopper car;

FIG. 7 is a partial view of the side posts taken along line 7-7 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is a partial sectional view of the side post at the side sheet; and

FIG. 9 is a partial sectional view of the side post taken at the bolster.

DESCRIPTIONOF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT With reference to the drawings and in particular with reference to FIG. I, there is shown an aluminum hopper car 2 having deep slope hopper roof portion 3, sides 4, ends 5, lower hoppers 6 and trucks 7. The car is provided with end stub center sills 8. The roof structure 3 comprises a hatch cover 9 with battens l0 and roof sheeting II on which is attached transverse carlines I2.

As better seen in FIG. 6, where the hatch cover 9 is removed there is shown the trough hatch opening 13 defined by coaming l4 connecting with the carlines and the roof sheeting to form an integral deep slope roof girder arrangement. The carlines 11, extending transversely on each side of the hatch opening 13, are in transverse alignment with the car side posts I5 of the side girder structure 16 of the side 4 of the car 2. It will be noted that the trough hatch opening is continuous and no horse collars are provided that connect the carlines on opposite sides of the opening with one another but there are three partition structures 17 dividing the hopper car into the three hopper sections 6. The combination of the deep slope of the car roof from the car hatch to the side posts with attachment of the carlines by welding to the roof sheet and in transverse alignment with the box shaped side posts present a strong reinforcing roof structure.

Each end 5 of the car is defined by the fixed stub center sill 8, the shear plate 18, the bolster web 19 and the end slope sheet 20. The slope sheet 20 connects with the vertical end wall 21 and the car end is also provided with a ladder 22 leading to roof running board means 23 and with hand grabs 24. Each shear plate at the end of the car is fenced by end sills 25 and side sills 26. Each side girder I6 is comprised of box section side posts 15, box section side plate 27, the lower side sills 26 and the side sheeting 28.

As best seen in FIGS. 3-5, the shear plate 18 comprises an outer end flat portion 18a attached to an intermediate flat shear plate portion 18b by a butt weldment W and an inner downwardly turned generally U-shaped shear plate portion or reinforcement member attached to the intermediate portion 18b by a butt weldment W The outer end shear plate portion 18a is attached to the horizontal flange 25a of the end sill 25 by butt weldment W and the end sill 25 also has a vertical flange 25b. The weldments W and W for holding the shear plate sections together is illustrated in FIGS. 4A and 4B. The weldment W is similar to weldments W and W These butt weldments W,, W,, and W are formed by scalloping out a part of one of the shear plate portions or adjacent member and butting it next to the adjacent shear plate portion and laying the weld bead therein. This type of weldment for welding together the aluminum shear plate portions provides for greater strength than the fillet type of weldment where one shear plate portion would be overlapped on the other shear plate portion and thus we have a stronger shear plate arrangement. The shear plate is similarly welded to the side plate 26 by weldment W. (See FIG. 7) by placing the horizontal flange 26a FIG. of the side still, which also has a vertical flange 26b, in abutting relation with the shear plate 18 and laying the weld bead in between to insure maximum strength at the weldment. It is, therefore, seen that the shear plate 18 lies in the same horizontal plane as the horizontal flanges 26a of the side sill 26 and the horizontal flange 25a of the end sill 25 to thereby apply shear forces from the shear plate directly to the side and end sills. It will be noted that the sidesill horizontal flange 260 on the bottom, seen in FIG. 7, is actually notched out to receive the butt-welded bead between it and the shear plate 18 and the bottom of the side sill is actually grooved or notched out deeper to present a shoulder 26 or to act as a positioning stop for alignment of the shear plate therewith.

The bolster web 19 is an upright member that is positioned transversely of the car and at each end thereof over its respective shear plate portion 18b and spaced inwardly of the end thereof. The bolster web or beam comprises an upright portion 19a and an upper outwardly turned sloped end portion 19b. The bolster web extends laterally and is attached to the horizontal and vertical flanges of the side sill 26. The lower bolster web portion 190 is mounted on the shear plate reinforcement member 30 which in turn is welded to each sideplate by butt weldment W, as seen in FIGS. 2 and 7 with the butt weldment W extending back to a juncture with the weldment W on top of the shear plate portions 18a and 18b. Side bearing brace reinforcements 31l are mounted against the upright bolster web portion 19a and over the shear plate reinforcement plate directly over the lateral ends of the side bearing structure 32 (see FIG. 5) which are connected by web 33 with the center plate structure 34 attached to the stub center sill 8. On the opposite or inner side of the bolster web portion 19a are mounted thereagainst laterally spaced-apart internal side bearing brace reinforcements 35 in longitudinal alignment with the short outer side brace reinforcement members 31. The inner side bearingbrace reinforcement members 35 extend upwardly to the bolster web flange 1l9b which is attached to the end slope sheet 20. Each end construction is also provided with two laterally spaced end slope sheet reinforcement members 36 which are triangular in shape and bear against the bolster web, shear plate and'end slope sheet for reinforcement of the torque box arrangement formed thereby. The end slope sheet reinforcement members 36 extend longitudinally of the car and at each end thereof and over the outer lateral upright portions of therespective center stub sill.

The end slope sheet member comprises an upper slope sheet part 20a, an intermediate or torque box portion 20b and a lower portion 200 extending into the area of the hopper end portion of the end hopper 5. The adjacent ends of the slope sheet portion 20c and 20b are welded by butt welding W to the inner shear plate or reinforcement portion We on the intermediate part thereof and the adjacent end of the slope sheet portions 20a and 20b are butt welded by weldment W to the upper bolster web portion or flange 19b. By this type of welding of the three sections of the slope sheet to the bolster and the shear plate, it is not necesary to do any internal welding inside of the torque box which is normally a very difficult task.

As seen in FIG. 7, the sideplate 27 which runs longitudinally on each sidewall of the car comprises an outer vertical flange portion 27a, a top upwardly inwardly extending top portion 27b, and a lower or bottom flange portion 27c closed by the sideplate closure member 37 of the side plate arrangement. The sideplate portion 27!) has an inner downwardly turned flange 3d and the bottom sideplate'portion 270 has an inner upwardly turned flange portion 39 against which seats the side plate closure member 37 having ends $0 and M and intermediate portion 42. The intermediate portion 42 is thicker than the portions 40 and 411 to set into and between the ends of the flanges 38 and 39 and fillet weld W attaches portion 40 to portion 38 and butt weld W attaches portion 411 and 39 together with the side sheet 28. The butt type weldment W is needed to transfer strength between the sideplate closure and the side sheet. Similarly, the roof sheet is butt welded by weldment W to the sideplate top portion 27b for the good strength transference between the sideplate and the roof sheet, an advantage of butt weld as previously discussed. The side posts, side sheet and side sill are joined to one another as, for instance, at 413 in FIG. 7.

The construction of the box side posts 15 at its attachment to the side sheet 28 and at the bolsters or bolster webs and at the three partition sheets I7 isbest seen in FIGS. 8 and 9 respectively. The side post 15 is of similar construction whether attached to the side sheets or at the bolsters and partition sheets with the exception that a heavier closure plate is used at the bolster webs and at the partition sheets. The side post is provided with a pair of lateral flanges 15a tapering outwardly toward one another and an outer longitudinally extending flange 15b to form an integral type side post construction but the sideplate closure 50 at the side sheets is of thin construction and has locating ears extending inwardly and between each of the lateral side post flanges 15a whereas the sideplate closure Sll at the bolsters and partitions is thicker along its full longitudinal length to provide offset shoulders abutting against the inner sides of the side posts lateral portions 115a. However, both closure plates 50 and 51 are held to the hoppers and to the side sheets by butt welds W by having the closures and side sheets adjacent one another and the inner end flanges 15c lying thereagainst and welded therewith.

Thus our invention provides for a novel lightweight high cubic capacity aluminum hopper car having a high pitched roof of sheeting and sheet mounted carlines in line with box section side posts attached-to sideplates to permit an open type hatch of maximum strength. Further, the car is provided with aluminum constructed end torque box arrangements such that the end slope sheet of each torque box is made into sections that are butt welded with one another and with the shear plate and bolster web to provide a high strength aluminum torque box for receiving coupler forces. Further. the box-type construction of the sideplates and side posts accepts bending as well as torsion forces to strengthen the roof construction. The box-type construction of the sideplates and side posts is also designed for butt welding to the side sheets to provide maximum strength characteristics from the sheeting to the plate construction as is the case with the torque box so that the roof and the side constructions act as girders taking the loading from the aluminum torque box construction.

We claim:

I. An aluminum hopper car comprising:

a roof girder having an elongated annular trough hatch coaming defining a continuous hatch opening extending longitudinally of the car and roof sheeting surrounding the coaming and a plurality of longitudinally spaced laterally extending roof reinforcing carlines on each side 1 of the longitudinally extending coaming such that a carline on one side of the coaming is in transverse alignment with a carline on the other side of the coaming;

a pair of laterally spaced upright longitudinally extending side girders connecting with the longitudinally extending roof girder and each girder comprising upright longitudinally extending side sheeting and box section post means being upright and in longitudinally spaced relation along the side of the car, each box section post means being in lateral alignment with a pair of laterally aligned carlines on either side of the coaming, and a pair of laterally spaced longitudinally extending sideplates connecting the carlines and roof sheeting with the side sheeting and side posts and a pair of longitudinally extending laterally spaced side sills, each side sill connecting with the lower portions of the side post means and a respective side sheet;

longitudinally spaced transversely extending partition means defining hopper spaces connecting with a pair of laterally spaced transversely aligned post means and with each of the laterally spaced side sheeting and with each of the laterally spaced sideplates and side sills; and

end car construction means at each end of the car connecting with the side girders and the roof construction and comprising a center sill portion, horizontal shear plate means mounted on the center sillportion and connecting with each of the side sills and an end sill means connecting with each of the side sills and with the shear plate means, and upright bolster web extending transversely and spaced inwardly of said end sill means and mounted on the shear plate means intermediate the shear plate means ends, and end hopper slope sheet means sloping upwardly and outwardly of the end of the car and connecting with the shear plate and the bolster web inter mediate the ends of the slope sheet means to define a closed triangularly shaped torsion box arrangement for receiving coupler forces imparted to the center sill portion for transmission of the loads from the side sills and into the side girders and roof girder.

2. The invention according to claim 1, each sideplate means being of box-shaped construction to receive torsion and bending forces as a result of the coupler forces and comprising an outwardly facing U-shaped member and an inner closure plate connecting with the ends of said U-shaped member to define said boxlike construction and said roof sheeting being butt welded to the upper end of the U-shaped member, and a butt weldment lying in a space defined by the side sheet portion, the side closure plate and the lower end of the U-shaped member for attaching the U-shaped member, the closure plate and the end of the side sheet together in an integral unit whereby forces may be directly transferred through the side sheets and closure plate.

3. The invention according to claim 1, each side post being defined by a U-shaped member and a closure plate, the closure plate being located at the bolster web and at the partition sheets being of greater thickness between the ends of the U- shaped member and extending into the U-shaped member, the U-shaped member, the side portions and the closure plate being butt welded together at each leg of the U-shaped member.

4. The invention according to claim 1, each side post being defined by a U-shaped member and a closure plate, the closure plate at the connection with the side sheeting portions being provided with a pair of inwardly directed, spaced-apart ears resting against the inside parts of the ends of the U- shaped member, the side sheeting being a plurality of sheet portions attached to opposite ends of the U-shaped member, said side sheet portions, each closure plate and each U-shaped member being butt welded together at each leg of the U- shaped member.

5. The invention according to claim l:

said side and end sills being generally L-shaped angle beams; said shear plate means comprising three longitudinally aligned welded together plate parts, the outer end shear plate part generally lying in the same plane of the lower horizontal flange of the angle beam end sill and generally in the same plane of each of the horizontal flanges of the angle beam side sill and being attached to the end sill and the side sill by butt welding and to the intermediate shear plate portion for transferring the buff and draft coupler forces in a horizontal plane from the outer end shear plate portion to the end sill, the side sills and the intermediate shear plate portion providing for maximum force transfer the intermediate shear plate portion being attached to the lower horizontal flange of each of the side sills by butt welding and being attached to the underside of the upright bolster web with transmission of the buff and coupler forces in a horizontal plane to the side sill producing a bending moment on the bolster web; and

the inner end shear plate portion being attached to the intermediate shear plate portion by butt welding and having an inner downwardly directed flange being welded with the end slope sheet means.

6. The invention according to claim 1:

said side and end sills being generally L-shaped angle beams; and

said shear plate means generally lying in the same plane of the lower horizontal flange of the angle beam of the end sill and generally in the same lane of each of the horizontal flanges of the side sill ang e beam and being attached to the end sill and the side sill by butt welding for transferring the buff and draft coupler forces in a horizontal plane from the shear plate means to the end sill and side sills.

7. The invention according to claim 1:

said side sills being generally L-shaped angle beams; and

said shear plate means comprising three longitudinally aligned welded together plate parts, the intermediate shear plate portion being attached to the lower horizontal flange of each of the side sill angle beams by butt welding and being attached to the underside of the upright bolster web with the transmission of buff and coupler forces in a horizontal plane to the side sill and producing a bending moment on the bolster web, the inner end shear plate portion being attached to the intermediate shear plate por tion by butt welding and having an inwardly downwardly directed flange being welded with the end slope sheet means.

8. The invention according to claim 1:

said end sill being a generally L-shaped angle beam; and

said shear plate means generally lying in the same plane of the lower horizontal flange of the angle beam end sill and being attached to the end sill by butt welding.

9. The invention according to claim 1:

said end hopper slope sheet means defining with a partition sheet an end hopper and comprising an upper, intermediate and lower slope sheet portion; and

the upper and intermediate slope sheet portions being butt welded to one another and to an upturned end of the bolster web, and the intermediate and lower slope sheet portions being butt welded to one another and to the downtumed end of the shear plate means.

10. The invention according to claim 1, said shear plate comprising a plurality of butt welded sections the innermost of which is butt welded to the plates of the end slope sheet and the outer of which is butt welded to the end sill, each of the shear plate portions being butt welded to the side sills of the side girder. 

1. An aluminum hopper car comprising: a roof girder having an elongated annular trough hatch coaming defining a continuous hatch opening extending longitudinally of the car and roof sheeting surrounding the coaming and a plurality of longitudinally spaced laterally extending roof reinforcing carlines on each side of the longitudinally extending coaming such that a carline on one side of the coaming is in transverse alignment with a carline on the other side of the coaming; a pair of laterally spaced upright longitudinally extending side girders connecting with the longitudinally extending roof girder and each girder comprising upright longitudinally extending side sheeting and box section post means being upright and in longitudinally spaced relation along the side of the car, each box section post means being in lateral alignment with a pair of laterally aligned carlines on either side of the coaming, and a pair of laterally spaced longitudinally extending sideplates connecting the carlines and roof sheeting with the side sheeting and side posts and a pair of longitudinally extending laterally spaced side sills, each side sill connecting with the lower portions of the side post means and a respective side sheet; longitudinally spaced transversely extending partition means defining hopper spaces connecting with a pair of laterally spaced transversely aligned post means and with each of the laterally spaced side sheeting and with each of the laterally spaced sideplates and side sills; and end car construction means at each end of the car connecting with the side girders and the roof construction and comprising a center sill portion, horizontal shear plate means mounted on the center sill portion and connecting with each of the side sills and an end sill means connecting with each of the side sills and with the shear plate means, and upright bolster web extending transversely and spaced inwardly of said end sill means and mounted on the shear plate means intermediate the shear plate means ends, and end hopper slope sheet means sloping upwardly and outwardly of the end of the car and connecting with the shear plate and the bolster web intermediate the ends of the slope sheet means to define a closed triangularly shaped torsion box arrangement for receiving coupler forces imparted to the center sill portion for transmission of the loads from the side sills and into the side girders and roof girder.
 2. The invention according to claim 1, each sideplate means being of box-shaped construction to receive torsion and bending forces as a result of the coupler forces and comprising an outwardly facing U-shaped member and an inner closure plate connecting with the ends of said U-shaped member to define said boxlike construction and said roof sheeting being butt welded to the upper end of the U-shaped member, and a butt weldment lying in a space defined by the side sheet portion, the side closure plate and the lower end of the U-shaped member for attaching the U-shaped member, the closure plate and the end of the side sheet together in an integral unit whereby forces may be directly transferred through the side sheets and closure plate.
 3. The invention according to claim 1, each side post being defined by a U-shaped member and a closure plate, the closure plate being located at the bolster web and at the partition sheets being of greater thickness between the ends of the U-shaped member and extending into the U-shaped member, the U-shaped member, the side portions and the closure plate being butt welded together at each leg of the U-shaped member.
 4. The invention according to claim 1, each side post being defined by a U-shaped member and a closure plate, the closure plate at the connection with the Side sheeting portions being provided with a pair of inwardly directed, spaced-apart ears resting against the inside parts of the ends of the U-shaped member, the side sheeting being a plurality of sheet portions attached to opposite ends of the U-shaped member, said side sheet portions, each closure plate and each U-shaped member being butt welded together at each leg of the U-shaped member.
 5. The invention according to claim 1: said side and end sills being generally L-shaped angle beams; said shear plate means comprising three longitudinally aligned welded together plate parts, the outer end shear plate part generally lying in the same plane of the lower horizontal flange of the angle beam end sill and generally in the same plane of each of the horizontal flanges of the angle beam side sill and being attached to the end sill and the side sill by butt welding and to the intermediate shear plate portion for transferring the buff and draft coupler forces in a horizontal plane from the outer end shear plate portion to the end sill, the side sills and the intermediate shear plate portion providing for maximum force transfer efficiency; the intermediate shear plate portion being attached to the lower horizontal flange of each of the side sills by butt welding and being attached to the underside of the upright bolster web with transmission of the buff and coupler forces in a horizontal plane to the side sill producing a bending moment on the bolster web; and the inner end shear plate portion being attached to the intermediate shear plate portion by butt welding and having an inner downwardly directed flange being welded with the end slope sheet means.
 6. The invention according to claim 1: said side and end sills being generally L-shaped angle beams; and said shear plate means generally lying in the same plane of the lower horizontal flange of the angle beam of the end sill and generally in the same plane of each of the horizontal flanges of the side sill angle beam and being attached to the end sill and the side sill by butt welding for transferring the buff and draft coupler forces in a horizontal plane from the shear plate means to the end sill and side sills.
 7. The invention according to claim 1: said side sills being generally L-shaped angle beams; and said shear plate means comprising three longitudinally aligned welded together plate parts, the intermediate shear plate portion being attached to the lower horizontal flange of each of the side sill angle beams by butt welding and being attached to the underside of the upright bolster web with the transmission of buff and coupler forces in a horizontal plane to the side sill and producing a bending moment on the bolster web, the inner end shear plate portion being attached to the intermediate shear plate portion by butt welding and having an inwardly downwardly directed flange being welded with the end slope sheet means.
 8. The invention according to claim 1: said end sill being a generally L-shaped angle beam; and said shear plate means generally lying in the same plane of the lower horizontal flange of the angle beam end sill and being attached to the end sill by butt welding.
 9. The invention according to claim 1: said end hopper slope sheet means defining with a partition sheet an end hopper and comprising an upper, intermediate and lower slope sheet portion; and the upper and intermediate slope sheet portions being butt welded to one another and to an upturned end of the bolster web, and the intermediate and lower slope sheet portions being butt welded to one another and to the downturned end of the shear plate means.
 10. The invention according to claim 1, said shear plate comprising a plurality of butt welded sections the innermost of which is butt welded to the plates of the end slope sheet and the outer of which is butt welded to the end sill, each of the shear plate portions being butt welded to the side siLls of the side girder. 